Sunday, February 8, 2009

Critic's recommendations are indicated by arrows.

9 -- A Deeper Look at the Goethe-Institut continues with its examination of the work of directors showcased in its recent "Film Neu" series. Tonight's film is Christian Petzold's "Yella." Through March 9.

13 -- "The International" stars Clive Owen and Naomi Watts as an Interpol agent and Manhattan D.A., respectively, who go after one of the world's most powerful -- and criminal -- banks. (Hmm, banks as bad guys -- sounds good on paper, but will the moviegoing public buy it?) Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") directs.

13 -- "Confessions of a Shopaholic," adapted from the Sophie Kinsella novel, stars Isla Fisher as the title character, a fizzy fashionista who takes a job at a financial magazine in order to snag her dream gig at an upper-crusty glamour rag.

13 -- "Friday the 13th" remakes the 1980 horror classic, with Jared Padalecki as Clay, who travels to an isolated cabin at Crystal Lake to find his missing sister. Hard to believe they can improve on perfection, but we'll bite (unless Jason beats us to it).

13 -- "Under the Sea 3D" takes viewers on an underwater odyssey to some of the most picturesque locations on Earth (well, actually below water), including Southern Australia, New Guinea and the Indo-Pacific region. Jim Carrey narrates.

13 -- "Donkey Punch" stars Tom Burke and Julian Morris in a film about a group of partying young adults whose escapades get out of hand when the drugs kick in and a sexual dare goes tragically awry. Sounds charming.

14 -- Love, Laughter and Fear is a Saturday series with longtime Washington film critic Desson Thomson at the Goethe-Institut about emotions in European cinema. Today is Love, featuring Jean Renoir's "Rules of the Game" followed by Laughter (March 14) and Fear (April 25).

20 -- "Cherry Blossoms" chronicles the journey of an elderly couple (Hannelore Elsner and Elmar Wepper) who travel to Japan to see their son. The culmination is a trip to Mount Fuji during cherry blossom season. From the German filmmaker Doris Dörrie ("Men," "How to Cook Your Life").

20 -- "The Class," Laurent Cantet's Oscar-nominated film, stars François Begaudeau in a dramatized version of his real-life story as a high school teacher in one of Paris's toughest, culturally mixed neighborhoods.

20 -- "Madea Goes to Jail" features a cross-dressing Tyler Perry as the irascible title character, who after a highway chase earns a stint in prison and rallies her family around her for support.

20 -- "Fired Up" stars Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen as high school football stars who ditch summer training to attend cheerleading camp, with the predictable libidinous high jinks ensuing. Molly Sims and Sarah Roemer co-star, poor things.

20 -- "Fanboys," with Jay Baruchel, Dan Fogler, Chris Marquette and Kristen Bell, follows a group of "Star Wars" fans as they travel cross-country to break into Skywalker Ranch and -- hey, wasn't this supposed to come out last fall? Anyway, they go there to do that.

27 -- "Two Lovers" stars Joaquin Phoenix (in his final film role, if his recent retirement announcement is on the level) as a man who returns home to Brighton Beach, only to be torn between opposites: an exotic, mysterious beauty (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the girl next door (Vinessa Shaw). From James Gray ("The Yards," "We Own the Night").

27 -- "Streetfighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" brings the popular video game to the big screen, with Michael C. Duncan and Chris Klein rounding out the cast.

27 -- "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" brings the bros' "Burning Up" concert tour to the very-big screen, with guest appearances by Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift. Think of it as a consolation prize for everyone who missed the White House scavenger hunt last month.

27 -- "Three Monkeys" has been a favorite on the festival circuit this past year. The drama, about the breakdown of communication within a family in crisis, was written and directed by the Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

1 -- "The Karamazov Brothers," Czech director Petr Zelenka's adaptation of the Dostoevski novel, makes its Washington debut at the National Gallery of Art, with Zelenka in attendance.

6 -- "All About Steve" stars Sandra Bullock as an eccentric crossword puzzle expert who falls for a TV cameraman (Bradley Cooper) and follows -- okay, some might say "stalks" -- him as he bops around the country, meeting a group of fellow lovable misfits in the process. With Thomas Haden Church.

6 -- "Watchmen" the Trailer has been around so long we almost forgot there was a "Watchmen" the Movie. Almost. Jackie Earle Haley stars as a washed-up superhero who lives in an alternate world where comic book characters like him are part of everyday life. When he joins with a group of fellow retired supes, he discovers a disturbing conspiracy that calls their entire past into question. With Billy Crudup, Carla Gugino and Patrick Wilson.

6 -- "Ballerina" follows the sweat, toil and ethereal grace of five of Russia's most accomplished female dancers, all from the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly known as the Kirov). From documentary filmmaker Bertrand Normand.

7 -- In the Realm of Oshima, a retrospective of the work of Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima ("In the Realm of the Senses," "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence"), opens at the National Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art (and later at the AFI Silver Theatre).

11 -- FilmFest DC, the city's annual showcase of international film, opens in local theaters and cultural institutions. Through March 22.

12 -- The Environmental Film Festival, which this year will pay tribute to the documentaries of Werner Herzog ("Grizzly Man," "Little Dieter Needs to Fly"), gets underway at venues throughout Washington. Through March 22.

13 -- "Miss March," by Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, stars Cregger as a guy who wakes up from a four-year coma to discover that his high school crush (Raquel Alessi) is a pinup model. Oh, and there's a road trip. Because there has to be a road trip.

13 -- "Race to Witch Mountain" revisits the 1975 Disney classic "Escape to Witch Mountain," this time with Dwayne Johnson appearing as a Las Vegas cab driver who goes on an unexpected adventure when two supernaturally gifted kids hop into his taxi. With AnnaSophia Robb and Alex Ludwig.

13 -- "Crossing Over," by Wayne Kramer ("The Cooler"), is an ensemble drama revolving around the disparate and diverse immigrant communities in contemporary Los Angeles. With Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd and Jim Sturgess.

13 -- "Amarcord" marks the re-release of Federico Fellini's 1973 film, based on the Italian coastal town where the filmmaker grew up.

13 -- "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" documents a 1968 game between the two undefeated Ivy football teams. Celebrity tie-ins? The Yale fullback was dating Meryl Streep; a Yale tackle roomed with George W. Bush; and Harvard man (and Al Gore roommate) Tommy Lee Jones was that team's only returning offensive lineman. History ensues.

13 -- "The Last House on the Left" is a remake of Wes Craven's 1972 horror classic that again answers the question: How far will two ordinary people (Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn) go to exact revenge on the sociopaths who harmed their child?

14 -- "Of Time and the City," Terence Davies's festival-acclaimed documentary about his home town of Liverpool, England, arrives at the National Gallery.

19 -- New African Films Festival, dedicated to the best of emerging films from Africa, launches at AFI. Through March 24.

20 -- "Sunshine Cleaning" was a hit at Sundance in 2008. It stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who find unlikely love, laughter and loads of money when they open a crime scene clean-up business. With Adam Arkin.

20 -- "I Love You, Man" is a bromantic comedy starring Paul Rudd (we like it already) as a guy who gets engaged, then realizes he doesn't have a friend close enough to be best man. On a "man date" he meets a guy (Jason Segel) whose awesome dude-itude threatens to scuttle the impending nuptials.

20 -- "Knowing" features Nicolas Cage as a professor who opens a time capsule at his son's elementary school, only to discover that it holds clues about the future. Devastating clues. About a future that's devastating.

20 -- "Duplicity" is the Clive Owen movie you keep confusing with "The International." In this contempo thriller, Owen plays a former MI6 agent who, with an ex-CIA officer played by Julia Roberts, embarks on a twisty scheme of corporate espionage. From Tony Gilroy, who wrote and directed the terrific "Michael Clayton."

20 -- "The Edge of Love" is based on the real-life tale of two women who loved the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas -- his longtime love Vera (played by Keira Knightley) and his wife, Caitlin (Sienna Miller). From John Maybury ("Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon").

20 -- "Everlasting Moments" tells the story of Maria (Maria Larsson), a working-class wife in turn-of-the-century Sweden, whose life takes an unexpected turn when she wins a camera in a lottery.

23 -- Globalization -- Threat or Opportunity presents award-winning documentaries from Germany and Australia about how economic growth directly affects human beings around the world. At the Goethe-Institut through April 6.

27 -- "12 Rounds" features WWE star John Cena as a New Orleans cop who puts away a thief, only to have the perp emerge after his prison sentence with a diabolical revenge plot that hinges on virtually impossible puzzles and tests -- 12 of 'em!

27 -- "Adventureland" is a coming-of-age comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale") as a high school graduate whose summer plans for a Europe trip are eighty-sixed, forcing him to take a job at a local amusement park. Written and directed by the super-talented Greg Mottola ("Superbad," "The Daytrippers"), co-starring Kristen Stewart.

27 -- "Monsters vs. Aliens" dramatizes the pivotal Supreme Court case involving Godzilla and Gort circa 1956, in which it was finally decided that the reaction shot of a woman screaming with her hands on either side of her face . . . We kid! It's the latest 3D extravapalooza from DreamWorks, featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Stephen Colbert and Kiefer Sutherland.

27 -- "Janky Promoters" stars Ice Cube and Mike Epps as disreputable concert promoters whose lives get complicated when their attempt to book a rap superstar goes bad. With Young Jeezy.

27 -- "Absurdistan" follows childhood sweethearts whose wedding night is threatened by a sex strike that the women of their village begin to protest men's indifference to a water shortage. (Note to Gary Shteyngart fans: This movie doesn't appear to be adapted from his novel of the same name. Just so you know.)

28 -- The National Cherry Blossom Festival Anime Marathon gets underway at the Freer Gallery for the seventh year. The program will include a costume show provided by the D.C. Anime Club (but how will they reproduce those huge eyes?).

TBA -- "The Goods: The Don Ready Story" stars a pre-mercury poisoned Jeremy Piven as a down-and-dirty salesman whose life changes when he arrives in a small town to save a struggling car dealership. With Ving Rhames, Ed Helms and James Brolin, from the production company headed by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (http://funnyordie.com).

3 -- "Fast & Furious" stars Vin Diesel in a tender period drama about a misunderstood -- wait, wrong page. In this third film about bad boy Dominic Toretto, car goes vroom, car goes boom, squeal-squeal-squeal, crash, close-up. Repeat. With Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez.

3 -- "Under Our Skin" is a documentary-as-thriller that investigates "the untold story of Lyme disease," how thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and the response of the health care system.

3 -- "Alien Trespass" looks to be a campy retro-comedy about an alien named Urp who lands on Earth in 1957 and inhabits the body of an astronomer played by Eric McCormack -- who must save the world with the help of a diner waitress (Jenni Baird).

8 -- Lions of Czech Film Series again brings acclaimed Czech cinema to the Avalon Theatre, including "Little Girl Blue," about a mother's existential crisis, and "Marbles," a series of vignettes about how men and women live together. Through June 10.

8 -- "Dragonball Evolution" is adapted from a hugely popular Japanese manga, which in turn inspired a hugely popular series of graphic novels, video games and TV shows. The movie version introduces the warrior Goku (not Urp, that's another movie), who tries to save the world from a horde of villains who are trying to take over the universe. With Justin Chatwin as Goku (not Urp, that's Eric McCormack).

10 -- "Hannah Montana: The Movie" is one of those Darwinian certainties of American cinema, like "Saw" sequels, or the inverse relationship between the length of Kate Hudson's career and the quality of her movies. Miley Cyrus appears with her dad, Billy Ray, in a heartwarming (or at least vertically integrated) tale of a pop superstar finding her roots in lil' ol' Crowley Corners, Tenn.

10 -- "Observe and Report" stars Seth Rogen as a shopping mall security guard whose dreams of attending the police academy might be realized when the mall is terrorized by a flasher. If you see only one shopping-mall-security-guard comedy this year . . .

11 -- The Charlton Heston retrospective at the AFI Silver Theatre will feature "The Ten Commandments" ("Let my people go!"), "Ben-Hur" ("Rome is evil!") and "Planet of the Apes" ("Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!"). Lots of exclamation points through June 14.

17 -- "Crank II: High Voltage" also can be filed under Cinematic certainty, Darwinian. Jason Statham reprises his 2006 role as hit man Chev Chelios (yep), cutting yet another adrenaline-fueled swath through Los Angeles, this time in search of a Chinese mobster. With Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, Efren Ramirez and rep company newcomer Bai Ling.

17 -- "State of Play," which was filmed right here in Washington last year, stars Ben Affleck as a U.S. senator whose political career begins to come apart with the murder of his assistant in this thriller based on a hit British TV series. Rachel McAdams co-stars as -- what's this? -- a plucky reporter for Washington's most powerful newspaper.

17 -- "17 Again" stars Matthew Perry as a guy whose life didn't pan out, but who gets another chance when he's miraculously transformed into his 17-year-old self (played by Zac Efron). It's "The Curious Case of Peggy Sue Got Married and Went Back to High School Musical"! And we're so okay with that!

17 -- "Goodbye Solo" follows the unlikely and deeply moving relationship between a Senegalese taxi driver working in North Carolina and a 70-year-old American who is determined to end his life. From the brilliant writer-director Ramin Bahrani ("Chop Shop," "Man Push Cart").

17 -- "Earth" is the 96-minute Cliffs Notes version of the celebrated, gorgeous 11-part documentary that ran on a loop on the Discovery Channel over the past couple years.

17 -- Korean Film Fest D.C. focuses on female directors this year; highlights include "The Chaser," a thriller about to be remade in the United States, and "Night and Day," the latest film from auteur Hong Sang-soo. Through June 10.

17 -- "Sleep Dealer" is Alex Rivera's debut feature about a young man who works in the sweatshop of the future, where laborers work by "plugging in" from remote locations.

22 -- "Earth" is yet another film titled after our planet; this one is narrated by James Earl Jones and follows three animal families on separate journeys over the globe.

23 -- "The Universe of Keith Haring" explores the life of the artist (and Andy Warhol buddy) whose mantra was "Art is for everyone!" At the Hirshhorn.

24 -- "Fighting" finds Channing Tatum shirtless in the bare-knuckle New York streetfighting circuit, trying to earn money and respect while getting his bones broken.

24 -- "Obsessed" seems like a knockoff of "Fatal Attraction," with Beyoncé Knowles and Idris Elba as the married couple and Ali Larter as the bonkers lady.

24 -- "Paris 36" is a musical comedy about a posse of unemployed performers who wrest control of a neighborhood music hall from a mob boss.

24 -- "The Soloist" is based on the true story of a newspaper columnist (played by Robert Downey Jr.) who writes about a homeless man (Jamie Foxx) who appears to be a virtuoso violinist.

25 -- The Alan J. Pakula retrospective at the AFI Silver Theatre will showcase "All the President's Men" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," among other classics. Through May 4.

26 -- "La Rivière Gentille" is the final installment in a trilogy of documentaries about 96-year-old Louise Bourgeois, the artist and sculptor who has not left her New York home in a decade. At the Hirshhorn.

TBA -- The 48 Hour Film Project returns to offer anyone the chance to whip up a movie in two days' time, and then show it to a discerning crowd.

TBA -- "The Merry Gentlemen," Michael Keaton's directorial debut, stars Keaton and Kelly Macdonald as troubled souls who find in each other both solace and a reckoning of past failures.

TBA -- "Management" suggests it's possible for beautiful, orderly Jennifer Aniston to fall for aimless, schlubby Steve Zahn during a spontaneous cross-country road trip.

1 -- "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is another Matthew McConaughey rom-com featuring a heretofore intelligent woman (Jennifer Garner's turn at bat) who falls for his juvenility.

1 -- "Sugar," a baseball drama, stars Algenis Perez Soto as a pitcher from the Dominican Republic who gets a shot at playing in the U.S. minor leagues.

1 -- "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," with Hugh Jackman reapplying mutton chops and claws, delves into the torrid past of the temperamental X-Man.

8 -- The Cyd Charisse retrospective at the AFI Silver Theatre will feature the silver screen's most famous pair of legs as they dance their way through "Singin' in the Rain," "The Band Wagon" and "It's Always Fair Weather." Charisse's acting chops will also be on display in roles in Nicholas Ray's "Party Girl" and Vincente Minnelli's "Two Weeks in Another Town." Through June 29.

8 -- "My Life in Ruins" brings "My Big Fat Greek Wedding's" Nia Vardalos back to the big screen, this time as a travel guide who gets her groove back on a trip around Greece.

8 -- "Next Day Air" is not a FedEx documentary but a drug comedy starring Donald Faison, Mos Def and Mike Epps.

8 -- "Star Trek XI" boldly goes back to the time when Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock were young and hot; J.J. Abrams directs.

8 -- "Wild Child" stars Emma Roberts as a pampered, bratty 16-year-old who is forced to attend a British boarding school, where she is roundly remolded by headmistress Natasha Richardson.

10 -- "Hunky Blues: Immigration and the American Dream" illustrates the joys and perils of immigration. Hungarian director Peter Forgacs will attend this Washington premiere.

14 -- "John Block: Palms" is a noirish melodrama about two killers in the sleepy town of Twentynine Palms, Calif., directed by the German performance and video artist John Block.

15 -- "Angels and Demons" reunites "Da Vinci Code" director Ron Howard with Tom Hanks in this catacomb-y thriller based on the Dan Brown book.

15 -- "Bruno" is another ambush-comedy by chameleonic funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat"), who this time conjures his effete Austrian fashion commentator persona. Prepare to take offense.

15 -- "Tyson," a boxing documentary by the irascible James Toback ("Two Girls and a Guy"), examines the life of the alto-voiced heavyweight both inside of and apart from the ring.

22 -- "Every Little Step" documents the anxiety and elation of performers who auditioned for the Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line."

22 -- "Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian" doesn't sound that bad when you consider a portion of the cast: Amy Adams, Ricky Gervais and Christopher Guest.

22 -- "Terminator Salvation" finds Christian Bale inheriting the mantle of robot resistor John Connor in post-apocalyptic 2018.

29 -- "The Brothers Bloom" casts Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as con artists who hornswoggle their way across the world.

29 -- "Drag Me to Hell," from cult-favorite director Sam Raimi, appears to be some kind of mortgage-crisis horror film; Alison Lohman is cursed after she declines to extend a home loan to a mysterious woman.

29 -- "Rudo y Cursi" re-teams Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal (who co-starred memorably in "Y Tu Mamá También") as rival soccer stars in Mexico.

29 -- "Up," Pixar's latest project, features the voice of Ed Asner as a balloon salesman who must brave the wilds of South America with a 9-year-old boy.

EuroAsia Shorts marks the fourth annual festival that follows pairings of short films with discussions about issues facing different cultures today. Various venues through June 6.

5 -- "Easy Virtue," a romantic comedy set in the 1920s, stars Jessica Biel as a glamorous American who meets her British husband's parents (Colin Firth and Kristen Scott Thomas).

5 -- "Land of the Lost," based on the prehistoric-themed TV series that ran in the 1970s and in the '90s as a remake, is now a big-budget feature film starring Will Ferrell.

12 -- "Adoration," a new film from Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan ("The Sweet Hereafter"), has a plot synopsis too confusing to relate in one sentence.

12 -- "The Hangover" stars Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms as buddies who get themselves into trouble during a weekend in Vegas.

12 -- "O'Horten" follows a Norwegian train engineer who is forced to retire and begin his life again.

12 -- "The Proposal" is probably around 90 minutes of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds not kissing; they play characters who "loathe" each other but must pretend to be engaged.

12 -- "The Taking of Pelham 123," a remake of the 1974 thriller starring Walter Matthau, is reimagined with Denzel Washington as a New York subway dispatcher and John Travolta as the criminal mastermind who hijacks a car to hold passengers for ransom.

15 -- Silverdocs, the AFI/Discovery Channel documentary festival, returns for its seventh year of spotlighting the world's most provocative docs. Through June 22.

19 -- "A Haunting in Connecticut" is another "true story" about a family terrorized by a haunted house; this one stars Virginia Madsen.

19 -- "Year One" forges a new genre of film, the "hunter-gatherer comedy." In this one, 2,000 years ago, two lazy men (Jack Black and Michael Cera) are banished from their village and must set off across the ancient world.

26 -- "My Sister's Keeper," based on the Jodi Picoult novel, pairs Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric as a couple caught in a moral struggle over the welfare of their ill daughter.

26 -- "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," starring Shia LaBeouf, is another chapter in the battle between the Autobots, the Decepticons and reduced-emission standards (just kidding!).